Device for capping a bottle

ABSTRACT

The device for capping a bottle includes a component in the form of a dome, from which flat tabs extend radially and substantially tangentially, and a belt connecting free ends of the tabs with a view to crimping on the neck of the bottle. The free ends secure the belt while allowing it to slide thereon. The component is produced from plastics material. The free end of each of the tabs receives and holds the belt and has a bulge which protrudes from the inner side of the tab so as to create a shoulder that is able to come into abutment under the ring on the neck of the bottle. The free ends each have on their outer side a groove of transverse axis, the groove allowing the belt to pass and holding the belt.

RELATED U.S. APPLICATIONS

Not applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

REFERENCE TO MICROFICHE APPENDIX

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a device for capping a bottle.

Such a capping device is aimed at embellishing the bottle, which isprovided with same, and can, in particular manufacturing conditions,also replace the wire cage of a bottle of sparkling wine or beer.

Usually, bottles, namely of wine, closed by means of a cork, areprovided with a cap, made of plastic or metal, which covers the endportion of the neck, so as to conceal the end of the bottle and the corkthat is completely inserted therein.

2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98.

In the particular case of a bottle of sparkling wine, the latter isprovided with a wire cage or a clamp for retaining the cork in thebottle, which is pushed back by the pressure exerted in the bottle. Thewire cage essentially comprises a plate or capsule, a ring immobilizedon the plate or capsule, and from which extend tabs the ends of whichare connected by a wire forming a belt, which is placed under a ringthat the neck of the bottle comprises. For esthetic purposes the bottleis then finished, the neck is thus covered with an aluminum cappermitting to conceal the cork and the wire cage.

Since they exist, the wire cages or clamps have been in different forms,resulting from the bending and twisting of metal wires together with acapsule, or from the shaping of metal plates, so as to form in one andthe same part the capsule part and the tabs, as clearly results from DE7610935U, FR 1 119 674, WO 2009 063526, FR 1 335 064 and FR 1 010 516.

Besides the problems raised by these wire cages or these clamps from thepoint of view of the resistance to pressure, their design results intotheir installation having to be different from the operation of theinstallation of the cork, i.e. the corking must be completed for thewire cage to be able to be placed, which increases the handlingoperations and represents a loss of time and, hence, of productivity.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is aimed at providing a device for capping havinga novel esthetic, which, when used on a bottle of sparkling wine insteadof a wire cage, can permit to limit the number of handling operations,and namely permit the installation of the cork and the wire cage in onesingle operation.

The device for capping a bottle according to the invention includes, onthe one hand, a part in the form of a dome, from which fiat tabs extendradially and substantially tangentially, so as to provide it with agenerally frustoconical shape and, on the other hand, a belt thatconnects the free ends of said tabs for crimping onto the neck of thebottle, which ends are designed capable of making said belt integral,while permitting it to slide thereon, and it is essentiallycharacterized in that said part is made of plastic material, the freeends of each of said tabs are designed capable of receiving and holdingsaid belt, and includes a bulge that protrudes from the inner side ofsaid tab, so as to create a shoulder capable of abutting under the ringthat the neck of the bottle includes, and in that said free ends eachinclude, on the outer side, a groove with a transverse axis aimed atpermitting the passing through and the holding of said belt.

According to an additional feature of the device for capping accordingto the invention, the flat tabs are dimensioned so as to have a surfacelarge enough to permit to include information, on the inner and/or theouter side.

According to another additional feature of the device for cappingaccording to the invention, the edges of the flat tabs are cut so as toprovide said tabs with particular shapes.

According to another additional feature of the device for cappingaccording to the invention, the part made of plastic material has, onthe upper side, an orifice designed capable of receiving and retaining amarking cap.

According to another additional feature of the device for cappingaccording to the invention, the belt is in the form of a ring aimed atbeing inserted by force onto the part made of plastic material after itspositioning on the cork, until it is placed in the groove.

According to an additional feature of the device for capping accordingto the invention, the groove is designed so that it can also retain thebelt, the securing occurring by snapping-in.

According to a particular embodiment of the device for capping accordingto the invention, the belt consists of a wire having a roundcross-section, while the groove has a retaining profile, i.e. itincludes an inlet having a width smaller than the diameter of said wire.

According to another particular embodiment of the device for cappingaccording to the invention, the belt consists of a plastic strip, fromone face of which longitudinally protrudes a pin having a roundcross-section, while the groove has a retaining profile, i.e. itincludes an inlet having a width smaller than the diameter of said pin.

The advantages and features of the device for capping according to theinvention will become clear from the following description, which refersto the attached drawing, which shows a non-restrictive embodiment ofsame.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 represents a schematic axial cross-sectional and exploded view ofa device for capping according to the invention.

FIGS. 2 and 3 represent axial cross-sectional views of the same devicefor capping during two stages of its placement on the neck of a bottle.

FIGS. 4 a and 4 b, 5 a and 5 b, 6 a and 6 b represent differentembodiments of a portion of the device for capping, respectively inviews from above and axial cross-sectional views.

FIGS. 7 and 8 represent schematic elevation and partly cross-sectionalviews of two different embodiments of another portion of the device forcapping according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

When referring to FIG. 1, one can see that a device for capping 1according to the invention essentially comprises a part 2 made ofplastic aimed at capping a cork 3, and a belt 4, which can also be madeof plastic.

The part 2 has two portions, a dome- or cup-shaped upper portion 5, anda lower portion 6 formed of flat tabs 60 that extend from the upperportion 5, radially and substantially tangentially thereto.

It should be noted that the tabs 60 are varying in dimensions and innumber, as can be seen, non-restrictively, in FIGS. 4 a and 4 b, 5 a and5 b, 6 a and 6 b.

The free ends of the tabs 60 include, on the inner side, a bulge 61having a projecting edge 62 facing the upper portion 5 and, on the outerside, a groove 63 having a transverse axis.

When referring also to FIGS. 2 and 3, in which is represented the neckof a bottle 7, which comprises in a known way a peripheral ring 70having a shoulder 71 on the lower side, it can be seen that the bulges61 are aimed at being placed under the ring 70, while the belt 4 isplaced in the grooves 63, in order to clamp the tags 60 and to press thebulges 61 under the shoulder 71 of the ring 70.

In the embodiment shown in these FIGS. 2 and 3, the belt 4 is in theform of a ring aimed at being inserted by force onto the part 2, untilit is placed in the grooves 63. This embodiment has the advantage ofpermitting, in an automated plant, to place the cork 3, the part 2 andthe belt 4 in one single operation, in the same vertical movement.

As seen above with reference to FIGS. 4 a and 4 b, 5 a and 5 b, 6 a and6 b, the tags 60 may be designed in different ways, they can thus,without restriction, be in a larger or smaller number, more or lessspaced apart, more or less long etc . . . .

Thus, in FIGS. 4 a and 4 b, the part 2 includes ten tabs 60 separatedtwo by two by a slot 64 formed in the lower portion 6, whereas in FIGS.5 a and 5 b as well as 6 a and 6 b, the part 2 includes four tags 60widely spaced apart two by two by a slot 65 formed in the lower portion6 for the embodiment of FIGS. 6 a and 6 b, and extending into the upperpart 5 for the embodiment of FIGS. 5 a and 5 b.

In these figures, the tabs 60 have a rectilinear shape, but they may beof various shapes. So they can have peripheral and/or internal cutsconferring them particular shapes, in order to represent an emblem, forexample. Similarly, it is possible to use plastics of various colors,which may advantageously be selected in correspondence with the color ofthe wine the bottle contains.

Advantageously, the large width of the tags 60, regardless of theembodiment being considered, provides a surface for includinginformation such as, on the outer side, a brand name or a slogan and, onthe inner side, traceability elements.

These traceability elements can for example consist of a code of whichthe buyer can check the existence in databases, thus permitting toreduce the problems of fraud.

It should also be noted that in these embodiments the upper portion 5includes an axial orifice 50, having a round shape, aimed at receiving amarking cap 51, visible in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, and which can also permitthe spreading of information, the identification of the content of thebottle, for example. It can be provided, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3,that the cork 3 includes, at the top, a recess 30 aimed at partlyreceiving the cap 51.

Referring now to FIGS. 7 and 8, one can see variants of the device forcapping according to the invention, in particular at the level of thefastening of the belt 4 to the part 2.

Thus, in FIG. 7 the belt 4 is in the form of a wire 40, which can bemade of metal or plastic, for example, and which has preferably a roundcross-section, while the groove 63 has a retaining profile, i.e. itsinlet 66 has a width smaller than the diameter of the wire 40,permitting the latter to inserted by snap-fastening.

In FIG. 8, the groove 63 has the same characteristics, whereas the belt4 consists of a strip 41 made of plastic, on one face of whichlongitudinally protrudes a pin 42 having a round cross-section aimed atcooperating through snapping-in with the groove 63. In this case, it canbe provided to close to the belt 4 through welding.

Irrespective of the embodiment of the device for capping according tothe invention, the belt 4 preferably includes a means permitting itsopening, and releasing the tabs 60, and which can consist,non-restrictively, of a zone having a reduced resistance and/or that isshearable.

1. Device for capping a bottle, comprising: a dome part having tabsextend radially and substantially tangentially, forming a generallyfrustoconical shape; and a belt connecting free ends of said tabs forcrimping onto a neck of the bottle, being made integral with said freeends and slideable on said free ends, wherein said dome part iscomprised of plastic material, wherein said free ends of each of saidtabs receive and hold said belt, wherein said dome part is comprised ofa bulge protruding from an inner side of said tab, so as to create ashoulder abutting under a ring of the neck of the bottle, and whereineach free end comprises a groove on an outer side with a transverseaxis, said belt passing through said groove and and being held by saidgroove.
 2. Device for capping according to claim 1, wherein said tagshave a surface with an inner side and an outer side, so as to includeinformation on said surface.
 3. Device for capping according to claim 1,wherein said tabs have edges cut so as to provide said tabs withparticular shapes.
 4. Device for capping according to claim 1, whereinsaid dome part is comprised of plastic material, said dome part havingan orifice on an upper side receiving and retaining a marking cap. 5.Device for capping according to claim 1, wherein said belt is comprisedof a ring inserted by force onto said dome part after positioning saiddome part on a cork, until said cork is placed in said groove.
 6. Devicefor capping according to claim 1, wherein said groove retains said beltin snap-fit engagement.
 7. Device for capping according to claim 6,wherein said belt is comprised of a wire having a round cross-section,said groove having a retaining profile comprised of an inlet, said inlethaving a width smaller than a diameter of said wire.
 8. Device forcapping according to claim 6, wherein said belt is comprised of aplastic strip, having a pin longitudinally protruding from one face,said pin having a round cross-section, said groove having a retainingprofile comprised of an inlet, said inlet having a width smaller than adiameter of said pin.